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Our Most-Shared Entrepreneurship Articles of 2013

With chapters operating in over 100 and six continents, the Founder Institute keeps its ear to the ground on the best possible startup resources. After all, entrepreneurship is a constantly evolving discipline, and our entrepreneur training program celerates knowledge-sharing from successful technology founders.

Our goal in sharing these articles is simple; to help inspire and educate founders to build meaningful and enduring companies.

In 2013 we shared several thousand startup articles and resources across our Twitter and Facebook accounts, coming from our directors, mentors, and popular publications.

Below are our network's most shared articles of 2013;

In this article, David Spinks, CEO of Feast, gets straight to the point about your product. In David's words, "t’s true. I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you. Most people don’t want to hurt your feelings."

Over the last four years, the Founder Institute has developed a Predictive Admissions Test to psychologically profile applicants to the program. After collecting data from over 15,000 and analyzing results from over 1,000 graduate companies, there are several traits that correlate with entrepreneurial success. NOTE: The infographic is broken on the Mashable site, but you can see the Entrepreneur DNA Infographic here.

In this video, Mark Suster, a successful entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, shares candid thoughts on his failures, and how they were ultimately critical to his success. In Mark's words, "I made many classic first-time mistakes which makes it easier for me to spot when others make similar bad choices."

There are already very good lists of startup lessons written by really talented, experienced people. I’d like to add another one. I learned these lessons the hard way in the past four years. If you’re starting a company, I hope you have an easier path.

In this exclusive Q&A, Chicago Founder Institute mentor, Joe Abraham, shares valuable insights from his experience as a serial entrepreneur. His most prudent piece of advice: don't do it for the fame or fortune.

About half of Americans dream of opening their own businesses, according to a recent survey by the UPS Store, but with 50% of small businesses failing within the first five years, how do you know if you're an entrepreneur ... or a "wanna-preneur"? Before you take the leap, Steenerson suggests taking an honest inventory of your skill set. He offers these ten clues that you're not cut out to launch a business:

Jason Freedman, Co-Founder of 42 Floors, says that this was one the most important revelations he made during his journeys in fundraising. In this article, he outlines a step-by-step guide on how to get the all-important warm introduction to your target investors.

There are many struggles that can come with being an entrepreneur: constant pressure, long hours, financial insecurity, the never ending need to find new clients or retain the ones you have, or perhaps lack of insurance to name just a few. But don’t despair! Studies show that starting your own business is likely to make you a happier person!

In this infographic, the Founder Institute shares its "10 Rules for a Great Startup Idea". If an early-stage founder can check off these ten items, then they have a solid foundation by which to start a company, and your chances of success are much, much higher.

In this article, bootstrapping-advocate and Freckle Founder Amy Hoy, shares her thoughts on startup motivation. According to Amy, "If you love your business, you’ll do what you have to do to ensure its survival, regardless of how you feel in the moment. Waiting for “motivation” to move your butt is just a clever way to avoid taking responsibility."

The Founder Institute is the world's largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program, helping aspiring founders across the globe build enduring technology companies. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 50 countries, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 1,550 companies in 6 years. The company's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and build sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.